Amazing Weekend of Feb 1, 2013 Pt. 1

Post navigation

The weekend of Friday, Feb 1, 2013 was my absolute best in a very long while. So what happened? On that unforgettable day, I went to the opening of the excellent documentary Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey With Mumia Abu-Jamal. Some of you maybe wondering who is Mumia Abu-Jamal? Mumia Abu-Jamal is a black journalist, radio reporter, author, and radical revolutionary who in July 1982 was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for killing a white officer on Dec. 9, 1981, in the city of Philadelphia.

This film was written, directed, & produced by Stephen Vittoria. The documentary which was was shown, and still is showing (BUY YOUR TICKETS & SUPPORT) at Cinema Village Theater in NYC, discussed the important life of Mumia, rather than the travesty of justice his trial received. We were able to see and understand his mind and the type of individual he was growing up as a young boy in Philly. Also his importance and service to the Black Panther Party was greatly emphasized and that was tied into the gravely important and immoral occurrences in the the so called “city of brotherly love,” the latter which led up to Mumia’s imprisonment. Two elements that I was thankful for and appreciated the most, was how seemingly simple Vittoria shed immense light on Mumia’s impeccable intelligence as a journalist, author, radio reporter, and radical revolutionary. It still baffles me how much of a brilliant and strong mind he’s been before and during his incarceration, as the film so beautifully depicts!!

At the end of the film, there was a quick Q&A with Vittoria and another brilliant producer of the documentary, Noelle Hanrahan. Fortunately and thankfully, I was able to ask them my question that says, “What was one important and wonderful thing you noticed about Mumia while working with him on the documentary?” Vittoria responded, “I never realized before incarceration how absolutely brilliant he was, how courageous he was, how far ahead of his time he was and then I was so impressed with the relationship he had with his family.”

Finally having the blessing of seeing Long Distance Revolutionary (I’ve been patiently waiting for a long time) was extremely special and uplifting. I walked into Cinema Village with my mom and, we felt an immediate feeling of camaraderie and unity. Reason being was that everyone in attendance were there to support our friend, Mumia. Even though I only knew the faces of few people, I could feel the love and great warmth from everyone. I will never forget those strong sentiments in many ways, because we were all a part, in some way, involved in the unified struggle to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and that speaks volumes! Even though I was not directly networking with anyone, I along with mostly, if not everyone there, was given meeting dates and times for the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition. That I was gracious for because I have been needing to find a particular way to get earnestly involve in the movement for his freedom!

One other reason why that day was such a extraordinary day, was that I mailed off my first ever written letter to Mumia. I decided to send it on that day due to the important release of his documentary, which felt like a huge culmination moment.

I encourage ALL to check out Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal while it runs for the rest of this week and next week in NYC. It’ll open in other cities such as Los Angeles, CA (March 1), Miami,FL (Feb 21), Seattle,WA (Feb 22), and many more. Check the website www.mumia-themovie.com for more dates and other additional information, especially the many enticing blog posts from Stephen Vittoria. I implore everyone to make a necessary effort to learn about Mumia and his case. First, reading about who he is and his case will definitely open up your mind to the ongoing life damaging injustices in America’s legal system. Second, it’ll propel you to join in the fiery fight to give Mumia Abu-Jamal the freedom he so long deserves.